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The Penn State Nittany Lions football program is a college football team that represents Penn State University, a part of the Division I Football Bowl Subdivision. The team has had 16 head coaches serving 17 different terms since its first recorded football game in 1887.
| General | Overall | Conference | Postseason | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| No | Order of Coaches | GC | Games Coached | CW | Conference Wins | PW | Postseason Wins |
| DC | Division Championships | OW | Overall wins | CL | Conference Losses | PL | Postseason Losses |
| CC | Conference Championships | OL | Overall losses | CT | Conference Ties | PT | Postseason Ties |
| NC | National Championships | OT | Overall Ties | C% | Conference Winning Percentage | ||
| + | Elected to College Football Hall of Fame | O% | Overall Winning Percentage | ||||
| # | Name | Term | GC | GW | GL | GT | O% | CW | CL | CT | C% | PW | PL | PT | CCs | DCs | NCs | National Awards |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 0 | No Coach | 1887-1891 | 23 | 13 | 8 | 2 | .565 | ---- | ---- | ---- | ---- | ---- | ---- | ---- | ---- | ---- | 0 | |
| 1 | George W. Hoskins | 1892-1895 | 29 | 20 | 5 | 4 | .690 | ---- | ---- | ---- | ---- | ---- | ---- | ---- | ---- | ---- | 0 | |
| 2 | Samuel B. Newton | 1896-1898 | 26 | 12 | 14 | 0 | .462 | ---- | ---- | ---- | ---- | ---- | ---- | ---- | ---- | ---- | 0 | |
| 3 | Sam Boyle | 1899 | 11 | 4 | 6 | 1 | .409 | ---- | ---- | ---- | ---- | ---- | ---- | ---- | ---- | ---- | 0 | |
| 4 | Pop Golden | 1900-1902 | 29 | 16 | 12 | 1 | .569 | ---- | ---- | ---- | ---- | ---- | ---- | ---- | ---- | ---- | 0 | |
| 5 | Daniel A. Reed | 1903 | 8 | 5 | 3 | 0 | .625 | ---- | ---- | ---- | ---- | ---- | ---- | ---- | ---- | ---- | 0 | |
| 6 | Tom Fennell | 1904-1908 | 51 | 33 | 17 | 1 | .657 | ---- | ---- | ---- | ---- | ---- | ---- | ---- | ---- | ---- | 0 | |
| 7 | Bill Hollenbeck+ | 1909, 1911-1914 | 41 | 28 | 9 | 4 | .732 | ---- | ---- | ---- | ---- | ---- | ---- | ---- | ---- | ---- | 2 | |
| 8 | Jack Hollenbeck | 1910 | 8 | 5 | 2 | 1 | .688 | ---- | ---- | ---- | ---- | ---- | ---- | ---- | ---- | ---- | 0 | |
| 9 | Dick Harlow+ | 1915-1917 | 28 | 20 | 8 | 0 | .714 | ---- | ---- | ---- | ---- | ---- | ---- | ---- | ---- | ---- | 0 | |
| 10 | Hugo Bezdek+ | 1918-1929 | 106 | 65 | 30 | 11 | .665 | ---- | ---- | ---- | ---- | 0 | 1 | 0 | ---- | ---- | 0 | |
| 11 | Bob Higgins+ | 1930-1948 | 159 | 91 | 57 | 11 | .607 | ---- | ---- | ---- | ---- | 0 | 0 | 1 | ---- | ---- | 0 | |
| 12 | Joe Bedenk | 1949 | 9 | 5 | 4 | 0 | .556 | ---- | ---- | ---- | ---- | ---- | ---- | ---- | ---- | ---- | 0 | |
| 13 | Rip Engle+ | 1950-1965 | 156 | 104 | 48 | 4 | .679 | ---- | ---- | 3 | 1 | 0 | ---- | ---- | 0 | Amos Alonzo Stagg Award (1969) | ||
| 14 | Joe Paterno+ | 1966-2011 | 548 | 409 | 136 | 3 | .749 | 95 | 54 | 0 | .597 | 24 | 12 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 2 | Sports Illustrated Man of the Year (1986) AFCA Coach of the Year (1968, 1978, 1982, 1986, 2005) Walter Camp Coach of the Year (1972, 1994, 2005) Eddie Robinson Coach of the Year (1978, 1982, 1986) Paul "Bear" Bryant Award (1986) George Munger Award (1990, 1994, 2005) Amos Alonso Stagg Award (2002) Home Depot Coach of the Year (2005) Sporting News Coach of the Year (2005) Big Ten Coach of the Year (1994, 2005, 2008) |
| – | Tom Bradley (Int) | 2011 | 4 | 1 | 3 | 0 | .250 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0.333 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | |
| 15 | Bill O'Brien | 2012-2014 | 24 | 15 | 9 | 0 | .625 | 10 | 6 | 0 | .625 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Paul "Bear" Bryant Award (2012) Big Ten Coach of the Year (2012 - Media & Coaches) Maxwell Coach of the Year (2012) AT&T-ESPN Coach of the Year (2012) |
| 16 | James Franklin | 2014-Present | 127 | 88 | 39 | 0 | .693 | 56 | 32 | 0 | .636 | 4 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | Woody Hayes Coach of the Year (2016) Dave McClain Coach of the Year (2016) Sporting News Coach of the Year (2016) Big Ten Coach of the Year (2016 - Media) |
The Big Ten Conference is the oldest Division I collegiate athletic conference in the United States. Founded as the Intercollegiate Conference of Faculty Representatives in 1896, it predates the founding of its regulating organization, the NCAA. It is based in the Chicago area in Rosemont, Illinois. For many decades the conference consisted of 10 prominent universities, which accounts for its name. As of 2014, it consists of 14 member institutions and 2 affiliate institutions, with 4 new member institutions scheduled to join in 2024. The conference competes in the NCAA Division I and its football teams compete in the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS), formerly known as Division I-A, the highest level of NCAA competition in that sport.
Joseph Vincent Paterno, sometimes referred to as JoePa, was an American college football player, athletic director, and coach. He was the head coach of the Penn State Nittany Lions from 1966 to 2011. With 409 victories, Paterno is the most victorious coach in NCAA FBS history. He recorded his 409th victory on October 29, 2011; his career ended with his dismissal from the team on November 9, 2011, as a result of the Penn State child sex abuse scandal. He died 74 days later, of complications from lung cancer.
Beaver Stadium is an outdoor college football stadium on the campus of Pennsylvania State University in Penn State University Park. It has been home to the Penn State Nittany Lions of the Big Ten Conference since 1960, though some parts of the stadium date back to 1909. It was also the site of university commencements until 1984. The stadium, as well as its predecessors, is named after James A. Beaver (1837–1914), a governor of Pennsylvania (1887–91), president of the university's board of trustees, and native of nearby Millerstown. Officially, the stadium is part of the municipality known as College Township, Pennsylvania, although it has a University Park address.
The Pennsylvania State University, commonly referred to as Penn State and sometimes by the acronym PSU, is a public state-related land-grant research university with campuses and facilities throughout Pennsylvania. Founded in 1855 as Farmers' High School of Pennsylvania, Penn State was named the state's first land-grant university eight years later, in 1863. Its primary campus, known as Penn State University Park, is located in State College and College Township.
Todd Alan Blackledge is a former American football quarterback in both the NCAA and National Football League (NFL). In college, he led the Penn State Nittany Lions to a national championship. A member of the famed Class of 1983, he played for the Kansas City Chiefs and the Pittsburgh Steelers and is largely considered a draft bust. Blackledge is a college football television broadcaster, working for ABC Sports from 1994 through 1998, for CBS Sports from 1999 to 2005, ESPN from 2006 through January 2023, and NBC since February 2023.
The Penn State Nittany Lions are the athletic teams of Pennsylvania State University, except for the women's basketball team, known as the Lady Lions. The school colors are navy blue and white. The school mascot is the Nittany Lion. The intercollegiate athletics logo was commissioned in 1983.
The Penn State Nittany Lions team represents the Pennsylvania State University in college football. The Nittany Lions compete in the NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision as a member of the Big Ten Conference, which they joined in 1993 after playing as an Independent from 1892 to 1992.
Richard David Robinson is an American former professional football player who was a linebacker in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Penn State Nittany Lions and professionally for the Green Bay Packers and the Washington Redskins. Robinson was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 1997 and the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2013.
The 2005 Penn State Nittany Lions football team represented the Pennsylvania State University in the 2005 NCAA Division I-A football season. The team's head coach was Joe Paterno. It played its home games at Beaver Stadium in University Park, Pennsylvania.
The 1912 Penn State Nittany Lions football team was an American football team that represented Pennsylvania State College as an independent during the 1912 college football season. In their third season under head coach Bill Hollenback, the team compiled an 8–0 record, shut out seven of eight opponents, and outscored all opponents by a total of 285 to 6.
The 1911 Penn State Nittany Lions football team was an American football team that represented Pennsylvania State College as an independent during the 1911 college football season. In its second season under head coach Bill Hollenback, the team compiled an 8–0–1 record, shut out seven of nine opponents, and outscored all opponents by a total of 199 to 15.
The Penn State–Pittsburgh football rivalry is a long-standing American college football rivalry between the Penn State Nittany Lions and Pittsburgh Panthers. The game played in 2019 was the 100th edition of the rivalry game. Penn State has not played more games against any other opponent, whereas Pitt has only played more against West Virginia University. After the rivalry resumed in 2016, it was branded "The Keystone Classic" with Peoples Natural Gas as its corporate sponsor. A four-game series between Pitt and Penn State ended in 2019 and there is no future game planned.
The 2008 Penn State Nittany Lions football team represented the Pennsylvania State University in the 2008 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The team was coached by Joe Paterno and played its home games in Beaver Stadium in University Park, Pennsylvania.
The Penn State–West Virginia football rivalry is an American college football rivalry between the Penn State Nittany Lions and West Virginia Mountaineers. Penn State leads the series 49–9–2.
The Penn State–Syracuse football rivalry is an American college football rivalry between the Penn State Nittany Lions and Syracuse Orange. Penn State leads the series 43–23–5.
The Ohio State–Penn State football rivalry is an American college football match between the Ohio State Buckeyes and the Penn State Nittany Lions. Ohio State leads the series 24–14.
The Penn State Nittany Lions men's soccer team is an intercollegiate varsity sports team of Pennsylvania State University. The team is a member of the Big Ten Conference of the National Collegiate Athletic Association.
The Alabama–Penn State football rivalry is an American college football rivalry between the Alabama Crimson Tide football team of the University of Alabama and Penn State Nittany Lions football team of Pennsylvania State University. Dormant since 1990, the series was renewed in 2010 in Tuscaloosa and then 2011 in State College.
Saquon Rasul Quevis Barkley is an American football running back for the Philadelphia Eagles of the National Football League (NFL). Prior to entering the NFL in 2018, Barkley played college football at Penn State, where he set several school records for his offensive production over three seasons, before forgoing his senior year to enter the NFL.
The 2021 Illinois vs. Penn State football game was a regular-season college football game played on October 23, 2021, at Beaver Stadium in University Park, Pennsylvania. The Big Ten Conference matchup featured the Illinois Fighting Illini and the seventh-ranked Penn State Nittany Lions, and took place during week eight of the 2021 FBS football season. The game was scheduled as a 12:00 p.m. EDT kickoff, and broadcast by ABC. Illinois defeated Penn State, 20–18, to win the contest after a record nine overtimes.